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Whether the SHTF manifests itself as a total societal collapse, like a "Mad Max" scenario, or something short of that like increasing crime with a major economic Depression, securing your home is an urban survival technique that should be near the top of your priorities.

The good news is that it takes relatively little time and money to protect yourself and your family, because it is not always necessary to make your house an impenetrable fortress.

There is an old joke about two guys hiking in the woods. The hear a bear growling and the one guy says "glad I have my running shoes" to which his friend says "well, you can't outrun a bear!" The first guy says "I don't need to outrun the bear... I just need to outrun you!"

This joke is instructive, because the first goal of home defense is to just make your house a much less attractive target than the other houses in the neighborhood. This is comforting news to people who live in frame houses with ground floor windows.

First Priority of Home Defense

The overwhelming majority of home invaders come right through the front door. For this reason, securing your front door is the logical first step. Buying a heavier door doesn't address the problem and is usually a waste of your money, as it isn't the door that breaks, but the door frame around the door.

When a door is kicked in, the weakest link is the frame that the deadbolt inserts into. For that reason, reinforcing your front entrance with a long-throw deadbolt and a brass striker plate with 3 1/2" hardened screws is an inexpensive first step. When you are at home, reinforcing your front door with a kick-in-proof "Door Club" for under $50 is an awesome security measure.

Step 2 - Securing Your Windows

Securing your windows doesn't require expensive and unsightly burglar bars. Although there is now a film that you can apply to your windows that will keep them from shattering even when attacked with a baseball bat, that is also a costly proposition.

The quickest, easiest way to make your windows more secure is by planting rose bushes under all of them. Attractive and inexpensive, rose bushes also let a potential burglar know that it will be a thorny proposition to come in the window!

In case of riots, your need is immediate and you won't have time to plant rosebushes. In that case, all it takes is a strip of wood with nails sticking out of them fastened to your window sill. Rioters and looters are unlikely to have tools with them to "uninstall" a spike strip from your window.

These are the two first considerations of securing your home, and are among many urban survival urban survival techniques that need to be mastered now, before it "hits the fan."

If you know anything about "urban survival" then you know it is not about gun toting, camouflage wearing end-of-the-world types. Rather, it is about learning and practicing a skill set of urban survival techniques that will help you get through the rough times ahead.
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